Nothing Hurts More Than Love: Alternate Ending
by Mungojerrielovaa
Summary: Ok, I was asked for an alternate ending to that of Jem commiting suicide. Sorry!  So here it is!


**Disclaimer: Nothing except the storyline and the poem belong to me. Oh, and the letter.**

**A/N: Ok, so I was asked by a friend of mine (Bob(he is actually a friend(but has a different name))) to write an alternate ending for my Jemima/Tumblebrutus tragedy, Nothing Hurts More Than Love. So, here it is! Hope you likey!**

* * *

I sighed. It was Valentine's Day. It was the same every year; toms admitted they liked queens, and vice versa.

Sure, there was nothing wrong with Valentine's Day, it was just... him. He never gave anyone flowers, nor did anyone give him flowers.

He said he didn't like anyone; however, I was sure it was just that he was shy. But...it wasn't fair. It was not fair that, no matter how hard I tried, I never even got _**one**_ tom near me.

Not one! They were always busy fawning over Bombalurina, or Victoria, or Demeter! Tears started rolling slowly down my face onto my half-folded card as I sat there, thinking about him.

Oh why couldn't I just tell him? "Damn!" I muttered as the card started to go limp in my paws, due to the amount of tears on it.

"That was my only piece of paper!" I decided to leave it in the sunlight, which was streaming through the window in the side of my den, and slowly succeeded in crying myself back to sleep.

* * *

=^..^=

I gambolled along outside, wondering if the world was yet awake. It was Valentine's Day, meaning only one thing: There would be flowers, cards, catnip, collars, and all sorts of gifts flying from one lover to another. Except one for me. I had no lover, nor a loved one. I loved her, but... I didn't know how to tell her that.

She was beautiful, gorgeous, and courageous; everything I wasn't. She would be better off with someone else, was what I always thought, yet, I still loved her. The feelings wouldn't go.

But I loved that feeling, the want of having her warm body pressed up against me, the need for those eyes, those gorgeous hazel eyes, to stare into mine full of love. And of course, the lust to hold her slender body, embrace her, be her shoulder to cry on. But I guess that I would never fulfil those feelings, so I'd let them lie.

Life sometimes was so hard... so unfair. As I walked back into my den after a mid-morning stroll, I wondered how Munkustrap, Tugger, Alonzo, how they managed to pick up queens so easily. Sure, life was hard, but love was even harder.

* * *

=^..^=

Jemima sighed. She had been working on her card for him for three hours straight. And now, now it was ready. **She** was ready. Ready to take a leap into the open by giving, or rather, leaving, him a card. A card which expressed her feelings. Told the truth. And turned away from laughter, from closing her heart, and leaving it open for him to enter. She was now ready to risk it, risk having the pain of being rejected follow her around for the rest of her life. "After all," she whispered, "Nothing hurts more than love."

* * *

=^..^=

As Tumblebrutus loitered slowly out of his den, listening to joy-filled cries of: "Happy Valentine's Day, honey!" he realised there was a card in front of his door. His heart leaped, and he picked it up, opening it. Inside was the most beautiful verse of poetry he had ever read in his life.

_I lie on the ground,  
and stare into space;  
the stars start to move,  
into the shape of your face._

I see you there now,  
looking down at me,  
with that cute little grin,  
that I like to see.

You say "close your eyes",  
"tell me what you see",  
I see only two people,  
just you and me.

We're walking the border,  
this night we won't regret;  
the horizon turns pink,  
as the sun starts to set.

We talk all through the night,  
on the cold junkyard floor,  
then I hold you while thinking,  
I could want nothing more.

Oh I wish I could be,  
in that one special place,  
as I lie on the ground,  
and I stare into space...

_Please, meet me on the TSE 1 when the moon is at its peak tonight if you feel the same way about me… _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Jemima._

Tumblebrutus gaped at the end of the message, wondering if it was actually real, or if it was just a hoax pulled by one of his brothers. But as he re-read the note and looked at the beautiful cursive writing, he realised that it couldn't be. It had to have been from her. Who else could it have been from? Shrugging, he scampered back into his den, and waited with anxious anticipation for the moon to reach the peak; for the middle of the night.

* * *

=^..^=

_Dearest Etcetera, Electra, Rumpleteaser and Victoria,  
Solitude fills me slowly as I wait for the moon to rise. I've liked him all my life. I know this. My mind is telling me to tell him… It's my duty. But to me, my duty is to my heart. Which do I decide to follow? If I don't come out tomorrow, it's either because I've died of embarrassment, or melted from happiness. If we do get together, you __**will **__see me around, just perhaps not as much. But one thing will never change. I will always love you, all of you, for all the advice you've given me over the years, and for being my shoulder to cry on. Thank you._

_Yours forever truly and thankfully,  
Jemima. _

As I folded the note, and stuck it under Teaser's door, I breathed heavily out, checked my reflection hastily, and headed over to the TSE 1 to wait for the moon to fully rise.

* * *

=^..^=

I took a deep breath, and checked my reflection hastily. Then I headed off to the centre of the junkyard. Ok, so in the olden days it might've been fashionable to turn up late rather than early, but I would rather be there early. As soon as I stepped into the large clearing, I heard an unmistakable voice. Jemima's. Her piercing, sweet voice rang out, and filled the clearing with its sweet sound.

_Daylight, see the dew on a sunflower,  
and a rose that is fading,  
roses wither away…  
Like the sunflower,  
I yearn to turn my face to the dawn,  
I am waiting,  
For the day…_

I will never forget that verse of song.

It touched my heart; as though it was beckoning me to come forth.

I stepped forwards, and quietly clambered up the TSE 1's trunk.

"Hey…" She stiffened slightly, but relaxed when she saw that it was only me.

"That was… beautiful singing. You should be put up as a soloist at the Ball."

She smiled; that warm, beautiful smile I had grown to love.

"You really think so? Thanks…"

She trailed off, her innocent hazel eyes misting over.

"I… Um… I got your card…" I said casually. "It was beautiful."

"You think so?" She looked around nervously, but never at me.

"Yes, I do think so. There's only one thing in the world that could possibly be more gorgeous."

Her eyes darted up and held mine for a second, and I was yet again enraptured by her.

"And that's you. Jem, I know I should've told you this a long time ago… I… I love you."

She gasped softly, her perfectly shaped face looking a pretty picture of both shock and happiness.

"Oh Tumble… I love you too… I will always love you…"

And as the moon started to be consumed by an odd mix of light and dark, Jemima snuggled up to me, and, as I held her close, she fell asleep, as pretty as a picture.

* * *

** Life has to be harsh for it to be sweet. You have to hate it to love it. That's why nothing hurts more than love.**

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A/N: So, how was it? Ok? Pretty good? Amazing *coughcough*? Reviews are very much accepted! **


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